Category: Professional development

November and December were spent on cloud nine! The first because of a fabulous holiday and the other because our daughter and granddaughter came for Christmas, all the way from Brisbane. January arrived and suddenly everyone was back at work except for me. The house was depressingly quiet and the dog and I were looking at each other equally as gloomy. My volunteering stint at the Museum of Islamic Art was over. With no job prospects at present, and my Australian visa application in a queue – a very looong queue – for the last year already, what was next?! I felt myself descending into the abyss of depression.

Why can’t I get a job you ask?…the only job I honestly stand a chance of securing locally is as a school librarian. I feel uncomfortable with the level of censorship required in this country, so for this reason I do not apply for any. Having interned for +-320 hours in an American private school, I heard and saw much. I reached the final round of interviews for 2 teacher librarian jobs, was accepted for one, but declined at the end of internship, as I realised that the local school environment is not for me.

Other (academic) libraries, under the banner of a major local holding company, have a cut-off age of 55 years, unless you are already in a position of worth. I have received zero replies from the National Library’s HR. Without appearing to make excuses, 3 factors work against me – I’m Western, I don’t have a Master’s degree and am considered ‘old’. The majority of entry-level jobs are seemingly filled by Middle Eastern nationalities. I graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree…a late career changer, chasing a long-held dream. At 59, with no experience bar +-500 volunteering hours, not many are willing to consider me employable. (If only they knew what a good librarian I’d make!)

My home country? No, not possible. An entrepreneurial venture? This would be another way forward, but I do not relish local red tape, and besides, this culture is very much a ‘man’s world’. My hands are tied – not cut off – just tied. For now.

To be away from this particular expat situation and to be in a country where I feel I could belong is my dream. Someplace where I can become involved in community projects, volunteer freely, join librarian meet-ups, feel that life has a purpose, and to be able to possibly find a job. However, what we want is not always what we get.

Recently I began to think…perhaps what I want is not where I’m supposed to be? Have I another task to perform? Listening to the two people I live with (hubby and son) I began to see that my role had huge value. I realised just how much they need me to keep things going so that they have a measure of support and sanity after crazy days in their respective working environments (you’ll only know to what I refer if you’ve been an expat in the Middle East). The mundane, unglamorous, task of running a home (which the world largely holds to scorn) acquired a new sheen. Added to that, a new granddaughter will arrive in April, in Brisbane. Once again I’ll be required as home-carer-cum-babysitter for a good few weeks. (Not that I’m complaining, since I’ll be in Brissie! Yay!)

And so, resignation dawned – stop fighting the urge to escape, to build a new profession, stop the striving. Support those you care for most. This is a season in which they really need it. With that decision made, I felt at peace.

So where does that leave my ‘librarian’ aspirations? Either I throw in the towel or I plod on.

Well, since retirement is not an option I am not about to cast myself aside as a ‘hopeful wannabe’. I choose to plod on! I will walk through PD opportunities that come my way, keeping my eyes fixed on that distant goal of ‘librarian’ position. I will think positive, stay fit and healthy. I will not accept defeat and I will put my hope in the right place – in the One who can make all things happen.

One morning a few weeks ago, I read an article that inspired me to keep my dream alive. I sprang into action and signed up for a MOOC through Coursera, Deciphering Secrets: The Illuminated Manuscripts of Medieval Europe, and enrolled for ALIA’s Born Digital course. I felt my spirits lift because some great learning would be coming my way soon. Simultaneously, I learned of another volunteering opportunity – a very exciting one – that may be available once I return to this ‘land-of-sand’ in May. I do hope it materialises.

What we want is not always what we get. For me, serving my family while waiting for the right time to realise a dream, feels like the right thing to be doing just now.

Here’s to you librarians everywhere…you rock! I really envy you, but in a good way. 😀 Keep up the great work!

“Good librarians are natural intelligence operatives. They possess all of the skills and characteristics required for that work: curiosity, wide-ranging knowledge, good memories, organization and analytical aptitude, and discretion.”

Marilyn Johnson in This Book is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians can save us all.

I enjoyed reading through Rudaí23, Thing 20 by Liz Keane Kelly. What she says is true: “presentations are as normal as meetings nowadays…”. If only most people who are presenting would remember that it is only a tool used to clarify your idea or information. Just recently I was in a 3-day workshop where the slides used were packed to capacity with information, hard to read, and where the presenter read each and every word from the slides. Yikes, that sends me over the cliff of boredom!

My own efforts at presentations have been few. I once prepared for a Book Talk presentation aimed at a group of children in a private school. They would have been aged between 9 to 11, an international group who mostly use English as a second language. To keep both boys and girls engaged for the 10-min talk, I decided to present Diary of an Ugly Sweater by Cassie Eubank. Christmas was approaching and the book had been released earlier that year. It was my hope that it would engage the children in a lively discussion around feelings. Also that they would enjoy reading this delightful book, finding its value as well as theirs. Well, the book talk never happened. Long story. However, the presentation can be viewed here. Needless to say, my presentation could have been improved upon, since it was one of my earliest attempts. To engage the children I used a few more ‘bells and whistles’ than I would normally like. I planned to use the notes panes to prompt me on what I wanted to say with each slide. The presentation is set to progress with mouse-clicks, to control the timing and the discussion.

Just recently I undertook a presentation for a library when the library manager (where I volunteer) mentioned that the overhead TV needed a new info display. At the library we were all under pressure, with about 10 days’ notice before an IFLA committee viewing of Qatar’s libraries in order to consider Qatar as a potential venue for an annual IFLA conference. At home I had time on my hands, so I tackled it and was humbled when they decided it was good enough to be used as a permanent info display. With this kind of presentation, which you don’t get to present, as it were, the vital info must be imparted to the viewer with a comfortable time-based scroll, so that they have time to assimilate the info in passing, but without getting bored. This (museum) library has a lot of walk-in visitors, both residents and tourists, who often don’t know that the library even exists.

A few years ago, as an English teacher at the British Council, the classrooms had smartboards for us to use. I would imagine that giving a presentation is not much different. We all know there are rules out there to come up with amazing presentations, and having read many over the years, I would be inclined to follow these six that I remember easily, and which are common sense really:

KNOW your audience; create a presentation to keep them engaged, within the time allocated. Otherwise you’ve lost them, period!

Don’t overdo the text. (I’ve heard it said no more than 6 words per slide. Extreme or correct? What do you think?)

Not too many fancy bits, simple is always better (and safer!).

Know your subject; don’t rely on the presentation to get you through. (What if the power is off and you have to talk anyway?) 😮

Give credit where credit is due! All the material used – images, clip art, ideas, text – should be referenced.

Create a handout for AFTER the presentation. Not the entire presentation – you can put that up on Slideshare.net – just the most important points.

Copyright, creative commons and all things legal have been well presented by Caroline Rowan in her write-up of Rudai23 Thing 19. It’s a topic that we should all be familiar with, but as librarians even more so, to ensure we offer proper guidance and advice to library users. I’m always appreciative of people who have the ability to explain it so clearly.

Recently (April/May 2016), I completed a 4-week course offered by ALIA and Sydney TAFE on Copyright. Here is my reflection of the course, after completing it:

This course was invaluable to me as a new librarian, especially since much of the focus was on Australian copyright. Locating different links and exploring the website for the Copyright Council for Australia was beneficial, most especially access to the Information Fact Sheets for each area of copyright.

It was interesting to learn about copyright period, and how it is applied worldwide. I learned about take-down requests and the issues that surround them, and enjoyed seeing examples of copyright policies from different libraries. The most valuable part of the course for me was learning about Creative Commons; at last I was able to take time to study the different licences and how they are used and cited.

Finally, Digital Rights Management (DRM) was presented and we were able to see the controversies surrounding this issue. We were shown all sides of the argument. It was really enlightening for me, as a new librarian, having not yet had opportunity to work with these issues. We learned about ‘click-wrap‘ and ‘shrink-wrap’ – “non-negotiable terms that accompany the [boxed] product” (CSO 2011) – pertaining to software and licences, and how libraries are affected by these.

While on the course we were given the link to this super video explaining Creative Commons from Creative Commons Kiwi…

Having once again gone through the issues pertaining to copyright, I have decided to place a prominent notice on the upper right hand side of my blog, showing that content created by me is covered under the creative commons licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Here is a link explaining how to protect your blog with a CC notice. I’m relieved that I finally got round to doing this. 🙂

Since the start of this blog I have used only Creative Commons or Copyright free (public domain) images, and have endeavoured to credit them correctly. If you see a discrepancy on my site, please be sure to tell me.

Six years ago I was one of three people (two coordinators and the HoD) responsible for drafting weekly class tests for each module on English language training, across different levels. For uniformity purposes collaboration was vital. They contained speaking activities, listening activities, reading extracts, images, clip-art, and questions of varying format. However, collaboration was a nightmare. First, our time was taken up with different tasks in the normal day-to-day running of the ESL department. Second, when we could, we would work on our local PCs, back up on the flash drives, and then go into the local network’s shared drive to back up again and create a master copy. If one worked at home, the documents would be copied from a flash drive to the work PC, overwriting a previous copy, and then again placed on the shared drive, overwriting the master copy. When we all worked on these tests over the weekend, there we would be, on the first day of the week, trying to retrieve and edit the same master documents, but in turn, as only one person could access a particular master copy at a time.

Needless to say, the entire process was a mental battle, trying to establish which was the latest and final edit! In the end each task often ended up with multiple copies, and all three of us at a loss as to which was the actual copy to use. Not only would we have to ensure that the copy on the shared drive is the correct one, but all our local backups needed overwriting, as well as the documents of the flash drives. We realised that our collaboration was a shambles! As far as drafting final tests were concerned, it was all best left to one person, we decided. The downside was that that person was sent multiple emails (leading to new stress) with questions and suggestions for additions, and telephonic debates on the side. The whole process was stressful and was repeated weekly. Somehow we managed to get the tests issued on time every week, but only after many private hours spent by one person, at the weekend.

Has the above story rung a bell, or revived old unpleasant memories? Made you confused and exhausted? Good! Because it drives home my point on just how wonderful it is to have Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox,OneNote and all the other programmes that allow effortless collaboration. Microsoft’s SkyDrive (now OneDrive) was available from about 2008, but cloud computing was a mystery to most of us, and those who were not techie-minded were adamant – they were not going that route.

Even our IT department was suspicious of the cloud, and consistently avoided any queries.

Dropbox was around soon after, but again, not widely used. Google Drive was only created in 2012, long after I left the ELT department. Had we have had those programmes and their current features, oh, our lives would have been made so much easier.

So averse was I to creating backups of backups of backups, that as soon as I began my course in 2010, I immediately turned to SkyDrive and Amazon Drive. When Google Drive arrived, it quickly became the popular choice. Today, documents can be created within these drives, shared, commented on, and collaborated on. No constant backing up and transporting of flash drives. It is safe…in the cloud. 😀 (Indeed, the onus is on the creator of the document to keep a back-up of his/her documents on site, but at least the documents and files on the cloud are not on a device that may drop, become damaged, corrupted, be mislaid, or anything else.) Truly wonderful. And now I can just about hear all those questions and comments regarding security and the cloud?! Haha, well after 6 years of using it privately, I would never, ever, NOT EVER, look back!

Earlier this year, as an intern in the school library, I was tasked with designing reading badges. These were digital images created with an online badge maker. To share them with the librarian would have resulted in countless emails containing rather large image files. Instead, I stored them on Google Drive, and shared each grade’s folder with her, automatically sharing the documents within. All she needed to do was to click on the link, open the folder, edit and/or save the file on her computer for printing. No pain. No flash drives. No back and forth emailing. The folders were downloaded onto her PC, organised according to grades, all ready to go.

Today, in the library where I volunteer, no-one seems to be using collaboration tools. It may be that their needs are different, but I have on multiple occasions wished I could give someone access to a document or form that I have created for the library, instead of having to email it as an attachment.

My favourite is Microsoft’s OneNote, which I use to take notes for both professional and private use, and create documents with to share with friends or family. It is user friendly, has multiple features, available on all devices, also allowing collaboration between different users. The writer of Rudai 23 Thing 16 has provided a super explanation of Google Drive and Doodle as collaboration tools. (I have made my entry into Thing 16’s Google Drive document, by the way. )

Cloud computing. Cloud collaboration. My personal thanks to the founders and developers of these software.

Thing 17 will be a reflective practice blog entry. Until then…cheers. 😀

There’s this cool app for kids, Quiver, that brings their colouring activities to life. The child in me is thrilled by this; I can’t get enough. Augmented Reality (i.e. additional to reality) has enabled these images to jump off the page and become playmates and 3D learning experiences.

Here is the volcano activity sheet that I tested on my iPad…first the volcano appears…

and then you can make it erupt…..

…sound effects, lava, smoke and all!

Fascinating! 😀

Oh, I know, right now you’re thinking about those little critters that are being hunted all over the world. PokémonGo! The craze that took the world by storm just a few weeks ago. In my wildest dreams I would not have thought that I too would have engaged in such unseemly behaviour (said tongue-in-cheek), holding the phone level with my nose and being led randomly in different directions, to trace that little yellow monster that was supposed to be hiding in our library! It reminds me of a recent cartoon I saw, created by the satirical artist Pawel Kuczynski, and highlighted by Twisted Sifter… 😉

Pikachu riding human, by Pawel Kuczynski

It was only the 2nd week of the craze, and there we were, the head of the library and I, probably looking really odd, walking to and fro between the stacks, right up to displays, windows and notice boards, but the elusive creature stayed out of reach! Grrr. So, off we went from the library into the museum, determined to experience the hunt – drawing strange looks – pursuing the unseen. Just as we came to our senses (we were supposed to be manning the library desk) and decided to end our quest, behold…there it was…dancing cheekily in front of us. The excitement at skilfully making it go *poof* was quite satisfying after the effort spent! (No success, yet, on the library’s own little monster. Either he’s not there, or the App is not playing along nicely.)

Augmented Reality (AR) is providing folk with a new pastime in PokémonGo. Some say it’s great, as people are out and about, and moving; others decry it as a waste of valuable time. Whatever the opinion, AR has hit a new high. Libraries are using the hype to entice people into the virtual gyms and recharging stations. Library displays have been organised around the new phenomenon. In her blog “Linking Learning” Kay Oddone writes that PokémonGo has brought Augmented Reality to the mainstream. (There’s also a link to a YouTube video explanation on AR.)

Where else is AR useful, besides colouring in books coming to life and monsters popping up in odd places? I discovered this video produced a couple of years before PokémonGo – the five best AR apps. Interesting, to say the least. 🙂

Rudai23’s Thing 14 has some links to interesting sites regarding AR in libraries. I like the idea of LibrARi, as we librarians know there are many who battle with classification systems and call numbers, or how to locate a book on the shelf. Data input would have to be really accurate though, and regularly updated, so that users aren’t further confused if the app points to the wrong book-address.

In the museum’s library we may try to do something with Aurasma for advocacy purposes. Thing 15’s topic is library advocacy, so I may get to try it out for the next post. At the moment we could use the Quiver app to make colouring in fun for the kids who are coming in and spending an hour during the hot summer months.

Nothing, however, beats human contact, and so the UX Librarian’s position could merely be augmented by this technology. 😉 I wonder if there already is something similar, besides the virtual reality tours and 3D images on apps that one encounters in some museums and galleries and via websites?

Rudaí23’s Thing 13 page provides great information on professional associations. There are links to various associations and the benefits of subscribing are clearly set out. Being South African, I initially looked at South Africa’s Library and Information Association. According to the website it currently has +-1,559 members. After two unsuccessful attempts to sign up, I decided to look to ALIA (Australian Library and Information Association), because we are hoping to settle in Australia in the near future. I was able to enrol for an international membership and have not regretted this decision. My only regret is that in not being physically present in Australia, I am unable to enjoy all the benefits. However, thinking positively, my turn will come, I’m sure.

The weekly newsletters are jam-packed with GLAM sector snippets, news and current issues in the world of galleries, libraries, archives, and museums. The weekly job opportunity emails are helpful albeit frustrating for me at the moment, because until my visa is granted, those opportunities remain beyond reach.

The Professional Development plan is a wonderful tool, as it challenges and motivates one to build up points towards certification, and so remain current in skills and knowledge.

The PD plan provides a wide array of possibilities, is user friendly with PD suggestions for everyone, regardless of their position. The couple of online courses that I have done through ALIA, via TAFE colleges (Cataloguing/RDA and Copyright), were both hugely beneficial and enjoyable. I have managed to garner several points in the short while as a member, probably because I’ve had more time on my hands being unemployed. However, if I cannot find employment for at least a year out of those 3, certification will take that much longer, since my degree can only be vetted in Australia once I have been employed (full-time) for a minimum of a year.

There is a monthly Twitter chat hosted by the ALIA students and newgrads group. Interesting topics are covered, and I always learn something from colleagues during these events. If I can’t make the live Twitchat, at least I can read the #auslibchat Storify.

ALIA’s website is loaded with resources, campaigns and events, and interesting news for all, such as the article written on the “Buy it now button” that is potentially on the card for libraries.

Here is a snapshot of what is on offer via the website.

I would encourage Library and Information Science (LIS) students to enrol with their local library association as soon as they are possibly able to. I regret that I didn’t enrol earlier. As an expat utilising distance learning, I had to actively pursue contact (regardless of my insecurities and fears) with LIS professionals in my area.

LIS teachers and lecturers can play a large part in encouraging students to be more involved in the sector. Membership with an association is one way students and new grads could gain access to the reality (i.e. the changes, frustrations, highs and lows) of the LIS profession, making their knowledge experience that much richer.

Conference attendees stand out on Social Media. They are enthused, excited and say they leave with fresh focus. Recharged. They document their experiences and the effect is contagious, even over the ether-net. Exposure to experts in the field, new technologies and ideas, modern approaches, along with having made new professional contacts, all go towards making conference attendance worthwhile. If I feel the way I do, after a short workshop, I can only imagine how amazing it is to be present at such an event.

Librarians’ batteries potentially run dry pretty fast. I guess dealing with public/academia/ stakeholders and so on and so forth has that odd side-effect. A regular RECHARGE! is needed.

“With a focus on professional development which keeps my job knowledge and skills current, this learning and development proposal aligns with our organisation’s commitment to its employees and customers by maintaining standards of practice and through continuous improvement of skills, attributes and knowledge.”

There in a nutshell, the reason for conference attendance.

And then, once the day’s proceedings are over…librarians have the ability to live it up! 😉

Jokes aside…as a new professional, attending a conference is high on my ‘wish-list’. Just recently it seemed this may well be possible since IFLA had Qatar short-listed for an international conference in 2018. Libraries across Qatar were given a short period to prepare for a visit from IFLA delegates to review this possibility. Excitement and expectation was high, as we began to see ourselves attending this locally hosted event. In the end, this is not to be; when it came down to the wire, another nation was selected.

So, as a member of ALIA, my attention is naturally drawn to Australia and the ALIA Information Online 2017 Conference. I would love to attend this event, and have begun to plan. The cost is immense because I live abroad. As an unemployed librarian, I’d have to carry the cost. I could pair it with our annual visit to my daughter and family in Brisbane; this would be killing two birds with one stone, so to speak, and make the expense that much more valuable.

The conference takes place in Sydney, from 13 – 17 February. Key speakers will include Rolf Hapel, director of Citizens’ Services and Libraries in Aarhus, Denmark; James Neal,University Librarian Emeritus, Columbia University, Vice President/ President elect, ALA; Patricia McMillan, author of “Make it matter: the surprising secret for leading digital transformation”; Sebastian Chan, Chief Experience Officer (CXO), Australian centre for the moving image; and Paula Bray, DX Lab Leader, State Library of New South Wales.

Here is my planning for this event:

Tourist visa: AU$135

Return air ticket to Sydney: AU$1,942.00

Conference fee (early bird member’s registration): AU$1,190

Accommodation: AU$335.00 p/n x 6 nights

Other: AU$20 per day x 5 days (Non-tangoing teetotaler 😉 )

TOTAL: AU$5377.00

😮 No small budget! In our currency that amounts to QR14,894. I would seriously need a sponsor if I wanted this to become a reality. I am grateful for a husband who is really supportive, and who has contributed much to my career path in the last few years. He would gladly provide the air ticket and visa costs. However, to cover the balance, I’d have to hope for a sponsor who is willing to assist a new professional. 🙂 Alternatively, engaging in some form of home industry to raise the funds would be the only option. (For those who wonder why I am unemployed… in Qatar an MLIS is the basic requirement, along with 2 to 5 years’ experience in the sector. I do not meet either criteria. Along with that, if one is over 55, you don’t easily find employment. Sadly, my career has not been able to progress, despite reaching a short-list twice in the last year.)

And then…that wonderful international conference from IFLA. Here is the link to the 2016 event, about to take place in Columbus, Ohio. Librarians, watch out for the tweets, using the #WLIC2016, this is going to be a great event to follow. Claire Sewell is one of many who will be live on Twitter and Instagram, and also blogging from this event. Be sure to follow her posts. I, for one, can’t wait. You could also follow the IFLA2016 Twitter account. The 2017 event is only a year away…so get planning.